Rome
My trip to Rome didn’t start off
on the best note that it could have, but let's fast forward ahead to where my
friend Patrina and I were hosted by a colleague of hers. Fortuitously, the
apartment was located in Trastevere, which is actually an excellent part of
Rome to be based in. Most of the major sites are within walking/easy public
transport distance.
It was my second full day in
Rome, and I finally managed to go out and do some sight-seeing that evening.
After
walking around for a while, we met an American who was sharing a park bench
with us. He actually picked up our accents as we spoke to each other and then made
a random little comment about Jamaica that got our attention. He really seemed
like he just wanted to talk to somebody; anybody. He seemed really shocked to
find out that P was actually living there and that I was just visiting. He
asked us what we were doing all the way in Rome . Really? Aren’t you
coming from the same side of the world that we are? What are YOU doing here?
Can’t we be doing the same? Or is it that only people from developed countries are allowed to travel?( Ok, rant over J
). We entertained the chit chat for a bit because it was a little amusing. He
eventually asked us to come to dinner with his sister and himself, at a very
nice hotel that they were staying at. We didn’t take up the offer of course. I
had no intention of serving as inspiration for some Hollywood kidnapping thriller
script down the road.
The next morning I walked up to
the Colosseum. I managed to take
advantage of a discount for the ticket that allows access to the Colosseum, The
Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Colusseum was originally named the Flavian
amphitheatre, but gained the Colosseum moniker after a huge statue (colossus)
was erected outside. I really enjoyed my visit. You may know
that I’m interested in history and archaeology and the Roman empire is of
particular interest. I really enjoyed hearing bits and pieces that helped (with
a little imagination) for the Colosseum
to come alive for me. Did you know that it was constructed in large part using
travertine and was therefore white at one point? Try to picture that.A great
white arena shining in the sun. One of the most amazing things about the Colosseum is that it is said to have been built in 7-10 years!!
One thing about
travelling solo is that you have to master the art of taking the selfie (self-shot) or else
you risk being MIA in most of your pics. Occasionally, someone will feel sorry
for you and offer to take a pic. It can be annoying to be asking people all the
time, so I try to manage myself unless I reallllly want a particular shot.
During one of these, a random American hijacked my pic.
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| I was laughing so hard! lol |
Near the end of my visit, it actually started to rain. I was
tempted to wait it out, but those rain clouds didn't seem like they were going
anywhere. At the risk of being stuck where I was, I decided to just shell out
for an umbrella from one of the many
Bangladeshi peddlers with umbrellas and ponchos. They knew what was coming and
had come prepared.
My next stop was a walk through The Forum. Originally a marketplace, the ruins of several ancient government buildings are found there. This
turned out to be more interesting than I thought it would be. Walking through
at ground level, rather than looking down from the street added a new dimension.
The rain did put a little bit of a damper on things.
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| Arch of Titus- entrance to The Forum |
There are obnoxious tourists of
all nationalities to be sure. However, if you happen to run into an obnoxious
tourist, the chances that they will be American is pretty high I think. I’ll
give just one example of several experiences I’ve racked up on this trip alone
thus far. While walking through the Roman Forum, there was a sudden downpour. A
couple with three children, including a toddler dashed to the nearest building
in order to shelter from the rain. Just a few minutes later, a couple other
tourists (American) started yelling at them to move out of the way so that they
could take a picture of a door that they were standing in front of. A door
people. And the door wasn't even that ornate or particularly interesting at
that. The couple should have shoved their children back into the bad weather,
just so that they could have a picture of the door. Really? Ah well.
It was then definitely time for a lunch break. I had perused
that morning in search of cheap eats near the Colosseum. Being a very touristy
area, the prices tend to be pretty high. Luckily I was able to find a nice
little spot close by that was actually suited to my budget. I think it would
have been even better had it not started to rain……
After lunch, I made my way back over to Palatine hill, the most important of the seven hills of Rome. The city is said to have been founded there. The
grounds here were much more extensive than I had imagined. The ruins went on
and on, I had no idea. There was actually also a museum at Palatine Hill, but I
was half-way down the hill when I realized I would need to go back up to enter
and I didn’t bother.
Next I headed to the
Trevi fountain. Thanks to me there is Jamaican money in the Trevi.
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| Trevi Fountain |
After that I trotted on over to the Pantheon, which was free to visit I was pleased to discover.
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| The Pantheon |
I made one more stop on my way home at the Piazza Novana. Now that I’ve written about it I realize how much of a full day that was!
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| Piazza Novana |
The Vatican
The next day was reserved for the
Holy See. Vatican City, the country within a city. Now I started my visit to
the Vatican in quite the foul mood. In pursuit of a particular discount, I
didn’t buy tickets ahead like I wanted to. So of course I had to join the long
queue that formed even though I was there quite a while before opening. At
first it wasn’t so bad, but then the sky darkened and thunder rumbled in the
distance. Eventually, The heavens burst forth and a deluge descended upon us.
It was so serious that I ended up purchasing a poncho (from the Bangladeshis
again) as the umbrella I had bought the day before was certainly not cutting it
at all. So I finally got in, but pretty much soaked. I was not happy. However
that started to change when I found out that I was indeed eligible for the
discount (cut the price by half) and therefore I had not braved the elements in
vain. I also realized that the hold up with the line was due in great part to
the security screening that everyone had to go through before entering.
There were Lots of Roman antiquities, paintings, tapestries and
statuary.
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| Ceiling covered in artwork |
There was also a collection of vehicles that have conveyed the Pope over
the years beginning with….
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| Sedan chair of Pope Leo XIII |
moving on to :
There was even the jeep that Pope John Paul II was in
when the assassination attempt was made on his life:
After exploring most of the
collections, it was time to make my way along the route to the Sistine Chapel.
The chapel was much smaller than I had anticipated. Then again, it is a chapel
after all and I suppose its fame aggrandized it in my head. There were no
pictures allowed of Michelangelo’s famous frescoes, so unfortunately I can’t
share any with you. At the very beginning I will admit that I was a little
underwhelmed, but as I sat (on one of the very few seats available- one of
which an American woman nearly knocked over a little boy for) I began to
appreciate how great it really was. There were a few more things to view after
that and then I headed over to St. Peter’s square. Going through the museums
actually took me quite a while longer than I thought it would.
A long line to enter St. Peter’s
basilica greeted me in the square and I spent the better part of an hour trying
to gain entrance. It was worth it though; St. Peter’s Basilica is really a
sight to behold. Never before have I seen such an ornate church interior. It
really is quite the masterpiece. I ended up walking around and around and
around just so that I could begin to take all the detail in. Honestly, the
pictures do no justice. It was truly impressive. After wandering around for
quite a while as I mentioned, I left as the evening mass, over which a cardinal
presided, was beginning.
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| St. Peter's Basilica |
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| Michelangelo's "Pieta" |
On my way out, I finally caught a glimpse of the Swiss
Guard.
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| Swiss Guard- yes they actually have to be Swiss |
Naples and Pompeii
So my trip to Pompeii was
actually pretty spontaneous. I realized I would have an extra travel day to
play around with on my railcard and that Naples was day-trip distance out of
Rome. That idea then evolved to hopping over to Pompeii from Naples. The main
things I was seeing of interest online in Naples itself involved museums, and
having been to the Vatican museums all the day before and planning to go to the
Uffizi the day after, I felt that it would probably be a good idea to try
something else. It turned out to be a good decision. It was rainy and overcast
in Rome, but bright, sunny and balmy down on the Campanian coast (despite what the
forecasts said).
On the train ride out to Pompeii,
I could see Mt. Vesuvius on one side, and the island of Capri in the distance
on the other. I got to the excavation site, got a discount, got a map and
started walking with Mt. Vesuvius looming ominously to the west. With my
interest in history and Archaeology that I mentioned before, Popmeii has been
on the wishlist. I never quite thought that I would actually make it thought to
be honest-but there I was!
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| Mt Vesuviusssss!!! |
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| This shot really reminded me of the Blue Mts back home |
I picked up quite a few interesting tidbits by tagging along
(oftentimes inadvertently) with tour groups. Sometimes you can’t but overhear
what the guides have to share with their groups (which is great when the budget
does not allow for said guide).
I found it all very interesting. With the application of
just a little imagination, it was really cool to picture what life in Pompeii
could have been like before the disaster. Near the end of my trek around the
site, I was on the receiving yet of YET another photo hi-jack.
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| Yet again....lol |
I grabbed a quick snack and decided to head back to Naples. One
thing I definitely wanted to do in Naples was have pizza. How could I go to
Naples and NOT have pizza? I had just enough time when I got back to Naples to
run up to the famous Michele’s and be back at the station in time to catch the
train back to Rome that I had earmarked. NOW I know what pizza is supposed to
taste like!!!! It was a simple Margherita (Tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive oil), but it was all kinds of yummy. I
was also very pleasantly surprised by the cost. A world famous pizza all for 4
euros!!!!
With that, I rounded off my trip to Rome. The next morning I would be headed to Venice!!!- but on the way I planned to make a quick stop in Florence for a couple hours so that I could tour the Uffizi Gallery.
